


Shuttle Buddies

by Soak



Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: 31 Days of Apex (Apex Legends), F/F, Fluff, Light Angst, Pining, Pre-Relationship, Protectiveness, carpooling i guess dont think too hard about it, our sweet engineer must be protected at all costs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:55:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25623982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soak/pseuds/Soak
Summary: Natalie wants her squad-mate to ride with her to the drop ship before their matches. Renee isn't completely sure why, but for her bubbly engineer, she's more than willing.31 Days of Apex prompt - "Trust"
Relationships: Wattson | Natalie Paquette/Wraith | Renee Blasey
Comments: 4
Kudos: 64





	Shuttle Buddies

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by some very talented art on twitter: https://twitter.com/crabornara/status/1288840660934516736/photo/1

Renee walked up to the door. So, what now? Should she just knock and expect to go in, as if she were some ridiculous socialite like Elliott or Ajay? It was hard to pump herself up for some small talk, especially the morning before a match. Doing this much alone had upset her strict Friday routine—so no, she’d just wait out here until Natalie was ready.

_Someone’s targeting you._

Wraith dove across the hall, tumbling deftly along the floor and pressing herself flat against the wall. Her kunai was already in her hand, anxiously twirling around her fingers. Her head swiveled in all directions, scrutinizing every corner for movement. It was completely empty as far as she could tell, but her voices from the void never lied-

“Renee? Is that you?” A muffled, cheery voice came through the door. “I thought I heard somebody pacing around out there.”

She turned, staring at the door and its fish-eye, and slowly put the pieces together. With an embarrassed sigh, Renee put her knife away. The door’s lock clacked a few times, and then with a turn of the knob, opened up.

“The match doesn’t start for a few hours, _chérie_.” The sunshine to her shade, Natalie giggled and practically bounced off her toes into the hallway. She was in her trademark, gigantic insulated coat, but ditched the tight pants for a more comfortable pair of shorts until it was time to gear up. A green nessie plushie was tucked under one arm.

“Yeah, I know.” Renee turned away, more than ready to set off and leave the awkward memory in the dust. “Just, you know… the voices in my head and all.”

Natalie gasped. “Oh, _je suis désolé_! I completely forgot.” She walked up beside her, reaching out for a moment as if to touch her shoulder, but stopped herself. Instead, she looked over with a frown and big, apologetic eyes. “Are you okay? I was not meaning to scare you.”

Renee coughed, smoothing down her jacket. Those eyes got to her more often that she liked to admit—and many other things about Natalie, but now really wasn’t the time to dwell on it. “Yeah, I’m good. Don’t worry about me.” She started walking down the halls, her squad-mate in tow.

Those words managed to convince the engineer well enough, her smile returning without fail. “Too late! We are shuttle buddies now!” 

“Is that what we’re calling it?” Renee rolled her eyes. 

“Yes! If you are watching out for me, I should be watching out for you, too.” 

“Watching out for you?” She looked over, trying to hide her confusion. Was she afraid of flying? They jumped out of drop ships for a living. “You mean in the ring?”

Natalie slowed, her cheery expression dimming into something more serious. “Uh, well, yes… but also I do mean shuttling over together. Being alone with my thoughts for the whole ride over… it is not so helpful, you know?”

“Hmm?” The scout lifted an eyebrow. “What do you mean? Is something wrong?”

“Ah, no? _Wrong_ is not the right word. You... you get nervous before matches too, right?” Natalie stopped herself, letting out a breathy laugh. “Or, maybe you don’t.”

Renee shrugged, internally unsure whether to be flattered or insulted. Knowing Nat, she gambled on it being the former. “Sometimes I do.”

“Oh, good. Right.” Natalie nodded. She picked up in the plushie in her hands, turning it over, observing it. “It is... difficult to sit in the shuttle for an hour and not worry. Even with Nessie. There is so much pressure to keep placing high, to keep winning. It has been bothering me for a while, actually.” Her expression kept deflating the more she confessed, her composure slumping, the Nessie doll pulled in tighter to her chest. “Sometimes I get scared that if I start performing poorly, that- I don't know, maybe I will keep losing... and that maybe my legend status would get revoked. And- and then what? The legends, the ring—they are my home. I do not know what I would do if I had to leave-“

“Hey.” Renee stopped in her tracks, turning to face her. The engineer nearly kept going, just picking up her morose eyes in time. “That won’t happen, okay? I won’t let it.” Against her better judgement, she reached out and placed a comforting hand on her arm.

Natalie stared, her face wide with surprise. For once, she had little to say. The two stood in the middle of the hallway, frozen in place.

Just as quickly, Renee pulled back, regretting everything. The silence was the worst part. “I- I mean, _we_ won’t. Yeah, Elliott too. He’s good at fighting or something, I guess.” Still no response. “You know, the ‘bamboozles’ or whatever he does out there, I mean.”

The cogs were still working behind Natalie’s eyes. Mercifully, she rebooted not a second later, a warm smile rising up her face. She dipped her head in a nod. “Ah, thank you! That is very nice to know.” She caught her squad-mates gaze and held it. “Though… I trust _you_ , Renee.”

“Oh?” A flush of heat ran up her face as she tried to grumble out a response. “Well, thanks-“

“Elliott, however? I never know if I am talking to him or a bamboozle. It is… quite confusing, honestly,” Natalie finished with a giggle.

Okay, so comparing her to Elliott’s antics stung a little—and it was no solid clue of what _level_ of trust she was on. Still, her heart had been thumping a little quicker. A small victory, she supposed.

“ _Mon dieu_!” Natalie hopped up, looking back down the hallway where they'd come from. Quickly she checked her watch. “Hold on! I nearly forgot—my new explorer costume!” She glanced to Renee, pressing her hands together. Those huge, pleading eyes came back again. “We have time for me to run back and get it, right?”

Renee smirked. “Yeah, that should be-“

“Okay- here, hold Nessie! I’ll be right back.” Without waiting for a response, she was already bounding back down the halls.

Renee reeled, confused, watching the engineer disappear around a corner. Explorer costume? The Syndicate’s design team was becoming more ambitious by the day—not that she got much of a break from their demands either. With a sigh, she let herself relax.

Now alone in the hallway, she remembered the soft Nessie doll in her grasp. Curiously, she stared down at the loved, worn, priceless Loch Ness monster, its fabric fraying along the stitching. It felt almost surreal; Renee had never once seen it detached from its owner. Everywhere Natalie went, even the ring, so did this little one. Suddenly she became aware of the high honor bestowed on her, the unequaled faith she’d never seen given to the other legends.

Breath became a little hard to come by. Renee stared at it for a moment longer, beginning to understand the trust she had earned. Then gently, self-consciously, she held it close. Much like Nat, she’d keep it safe, for as long as she had to.

**Author's Note:**

> Also I guess I have a twitter of my own I guess?? Enough people asked if I had one soo... It'll mostly be RTs and shitposting but w/e
> 
> https://twitter.com/cozysoak


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